ACLU, labor groups sue to block Michigan right-to-work law

Source: Detroit News

Labor unions and the ACLU of Michigan have sued the Legislature and state police for temporarily locking out the public from entering the state Capitol Dec. 6 during the first day of debate on right-to-work legislation.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Ingham County Circuit Court, alleges the Michigan State Police's decision to lock the Capitol doors violated the state's Open Meetings Act.

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For four hours on Dec. 6, labor union protesters were blocked from entering the Capitol while the Republican-controlled House and Senate debated the controversial legislation that had been introduced that day. Michigan State Police have said they closed the Capitol citing capacity issues, but a few days later let hundreds of more protesters into the building without incident while 10,000 people protested outside on the front lawn of the statehouse.

"The closure of the entrance to the Capitol when the Legislature was in session is believed to be unprecedented," the lawsuit says. "It violated the Open Meetings Act, the Michigan Constitution, the First Amendment, and the bedrock principles of popular sovereignty on which our country was founded."